Annual Research Report 2020

19 SPU’s First Postdoctoral Fellow The School of Natural and Applied Sciences is excited to welcome the very first postdoctoral fellow at SPU. This is a significant mile- stone in the development of postdoctoral fellowships for the insti- tution. The School is committed to increasing its research outputs by being research active within its key focus areas. Head of School, Professor Aifheli Gelebe, maintains that this externally funded postdoctoral fellowship is significant for the continued success of the School, as it not only enhances the School’s research capacity but also establishes a base for a research partnership between the School and the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI). Dr Zingfa Wala is a doctoral graduate from the University of Cape Town, where he analysed Gauteng birds using citizen-science data from the Southern African Bird Atlas Projects, investigating the changes in occurrence and abundance in the region, and the link- ages with urban habitat and human population change. His postdoctoral research will focus on biodiversity informatics curricula linked to data science applications. This is a SANBI-funded position that ties in with its Foundational Biodiversity Information Science division and links to the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). This SANBI-GBIF initiative aims to develop the ca- pacity and skills base of biodiversity informatics professionals and practitioners in the country through the mobilisation, analysis, usage and publication of data. Dr Wala will be based in the department of Biological and Agricultural Sciences, under the supervision of Dr Doug Harebottle who is the head of department. “As the department’s first post-doctoral fellow, Dr Wala will be working on Biodiversity Informatics which is a devel- oping yet important field in the biodiversity conservation sciences. He will focus on how data science applications can assist in biodi- versity big data analyses and visualisation, and incorporate these into developing appropriate postgraduate curricula. This showcases the inter-departmental and inter-disciplinary nature of Dr Wala’s work as he’ll be working with staff members from both the depart- ment of Biological and Agricultural Sciences and the department of Computer Science and Information Technology. His research and teaching experience will contribute immensely to the departments”, said Dr Harebottle. The School of Natural and Applied Sciences is delighted to wel- come Dr Wala as part of the team in this dynamic and innovative postdoctoral position. We wish him success with his research in the coming year. Under the current Covid-19 conditions he will work remotely. We look forward to meeting this new member of the SPU community once the lockdown restrictions have eased. Dr Zingfa Wala